As a follow on to inspecting and repacking the steering head bearings, I finally installed the set of SS adjustable Showas I had picked up a couple of months ago and went for a test ride.
The little noise gremlin didn't go away after the steering head bearing service, so I decided to swap in the "new" forks and inspect the wheel bearings while at it.
Wheel bearings still felt good, so I suspected the OEM forks may have gone south on me. (It eventually turned out that the sensation is still there - I think I just never noticed it until after logging a few miles on the BMW which is super plush feeling compared to the Monster)
Installing the adjustable Showas from a 96 900 SS turned up a couple of interesting points: The fork dimensions are pretty much the same as the non-adjustables, except that the adjusters stand a lot taller than the plain top bolts (caps). At first, I had to set the forks with the top of the tube even with the top of the triple clamp to avoid interference with the handlebars and brake/clutch hoses. That placed the center of the axle 14 mm lower from the bottom triple than the stock forks/setting. In turn, that put too much strain on the front brake lines and speedo cable when the front end was lifted clear of the floor.
By fiddling with the bars and clutch m/c, I was able to raise the forks 3.5 mm in the clamps which relieved the strain on the brake hoses and speedo cable. So now I've got the front ride height about 10 mm higher than it was. Plus, with the fork preload at the "standard" settng IAW Haynes, total sag was reduced another 5 or 6 mm from what I had with the original forks. I couldn't reduce preload any because of interference with the adjusters and handlebars.
So I went for about a 40 mile test ride where there were some of the few curvy roads around here and some washboard sections to see what effect raising the front ride height had on handling.
I was amazed to find that I actually like the turn in characterisitcs better with this setup. The forks need a little tweaking to fine tune damping over high frequency bumps and ripples, but otherwise feel a little better than the stockers.
But where the bike used to almost turn in too quickly when flicked into a turn, and especially tried to "fall" into turns around street corners at low speed - it is much steadier and easier to control with out having to correct the original steering input. Even in high speed sweepers and curves where I can get a lot of drive coming out and get the front really light it just felt better. Not as "nervous", I guess.
And no perceptible increase in effort to turn in is required. As mentioned above, it actually takes less effort on my part to complete a turn because I'm not having to correct initial steering inputs when the bike turns in too quick.
I've concluded the only other adjustment I want to make before hitting the track next Saturday is to crank in just a little more preload in the rear and increase rebound damping at the rear about 2 clicks to match the increased spring loading. That should have the two ends balanced almost as well as they were before swapping forks.
My take on all I discovered in this little exercise is that lowering the front/raising the rear to turn in quicker may be perceived as THE thing to do... But it may not be the best in every case or for all riders. If you want to check it out for yourself, try raising your front ride height about 10 mm or so. The saving grace is that it should be moving the bike toward a more stable set up rather than toward instability and possible tank slappers. YMMV.
The little noise gremlin didn't go away after the steering head bearing service, so I decided to swap in the "new" forks and inspect the wheel bearings while at it.
Wheel bearings still felt good, so I suspected the OEM forks may have gone south on me. (It eventually turned out that the sensation is still there - I think I just never noticed it until after logging a few miles on the BMW which is super plush feeling compared to the Monster)
Installing the adjustable Showas from a 96 900 SS turned up a couple of interesting points: The fork dimensions are pretty much the same as the non-adjustables, except that the adjusters stand a lot taller than the plain top bolts (caps). At first, I had to set the forks with the top of the tube even with the top of the triple clamp to avoid interference with the handlebars and brake/clutch hoses. That placed the center of the axle 14 mm lower from the bottom triple than the stock forks/setting. In turn, that put too much strain on the front brake lines and speedo cable when the front end was lifted clear of the floor.
By fiddling with the bars and clutch m/c, I was able to raise the forks 3.5 mm in the clamps which relieved the strain on the brake hoses and speedo cable. So now I've got the front ride height about 10 mm higher than it was. Plus, with the fork preload at the "standard" settng IAW Haynes, total sag was reduced another 5 or 6 mm from what I had with the original forks. I couldn't reduce preload any because of interference with the adjusters and handlebars.
So I went for about a 40 mile test ride where there were some of the few curvy roads around here and some washboard sections to see what effect raising the front ride height had on handling.
I was amazed to find that I actually like the turn in characterisitcs better with this setup. The forks need a little tweaking to fine tune damping over high frequency bumps and ripples, but otherwise feel a little better than the stockers.
But where the bike used to almost turn in too quickly when flicked into a turn, and especially tried to "fall" into turns around street corners at low speed - it is much steadier and easier to control with out having to correct the original steering input. Even in high speed sweepers and curves where I can get a lot of drive coming out and get the front really light it just felt better. Not as "nervous", I guess.
And no perceptible increase in effort to turn in is required. As mentioned above, it actually takes less effort on my part to complete a turn because I'm not having to correct initial steering inputs when the bike turns in too quick.
I've concluded the only other adjustment I want to make before hitting the track next Saturday is to crank in just a little more preload in the rear and increase rebound damping at the rear about 2 clicks to match the increased spring loading. That should have the two ends balanced almost as well as they were before swapping forks.
My take on all I discovered in this little exercise is that lowering the front/raising the rear to turn in quicker may be perceived as THE thing to do... But it may not be the best in every case or for all riders. If you want to check it out for yourself, try raising your front ride height about 10 mm or so. The saving grace is that it should be moving the bike toward a more stable set up rather than toward instability and possible tank slappers. YMMV.
